111 - In the Pikeman tavern with 8 Gargoyles and a Rampart hero. I buy and upgrade Grems, about 50 of them, exit the Castle, and run into a block of 50+ upgraded Grems... some "allies" they are. Despite placing Centaurs up front, with "shoot us" written in big letters on their foreheads, these bastards mowed down 15 of my Grems, which were scarce enough as it was. I run further along the path; there's a prison guarded by Archers (well, at least it's not Arbalesters). On one side, a passage to the grass is blocked by 50+ Dwarves; nearby is a Shield +4 guarded by 20+ upgraded Dwarves. On the other side, another block, but with a choice: another 50+ upgraded Grems or 20+ Goggs. Lucky me, I find a Grems stash off-road with my scout.
112-113 - I break the prison; they give me a level-0 Rampart hero, but I gain Centaurs, whom no one wants to hit. I break the second Grem block, taking heavy losses — every pointed hat counts. I'm left with about 40 Grems, 30 Centaurs, and a few Gargoyles. For two weeks, I haul Dwarves with a cart, breaking through both the Shield and the passage to the grass. I build a Mage Guild: no Haste or Slow, but there's Blessing.
114-117 - On the grass, I take Conflux, where there's a Stable, and reveal the map. Almost the whole zone is visible. This is clearly not an adjacent zone; there's an upward passage to a Treasure zone on sand, and I can't find the passage to a second Treasure zone, but there aren't many unexplored parts left. Among the good stuff, I see 3 Crypts, take them (one is max), so I get Nagas at home for the Citadel. Meanwhile, at the respawn, all my scout-collectors hit blocks, and the second road leads to the ГО.
Second week - I buy up, upgrade Nagas, and run with Nile randomly toward the passage to the second Treasure zone. It turns out to be where expected — underground. Army: 90 Grems, 10 Gargoyles, 5 upgraded Nagas, 6 Mages, and a bit of fodder. I have a tactic, but no spells are given. I see a Dragon Fly Hive, take it — level 6. Further on, 20+ Monks block the passage for Shackles. Up ahead, 50+ Vampires block for Pendant of Memory. I hit the Monks — 40 of them, -magic. Next, a block of 50+ Monks for 2 Scrolls. I decide I've had enough of Monks, so I hit the Vampires. 65 of them with Ghostly Stilettos, -fodder. I run further, and there's a block of 20+ Efreet for a Pandora's Box and +5 Attack. It becomes clear we're not welcome here; I run back. What about magic? Nile got Air Magic, and the Mage Guild in Conflux gave Slow. Strange — Air Magic is good, Slow is good, but having both feels somehow bad. I weigh options: run to the other Treasure zone via sand, but I have no Search. Or look at the respawn for passages to other secondary zones, which are nowhere to be found, and the result will probably be that I get caught out. I decide to run to the sands. By the end of the week, I see Kyrre breaking the Efreet in the underground Treasure zone. I check with my scout — decent stats, about 20 Wyverns, 30 Grand Elves, and some fodder. 0 Mana, but no point attacking without Haste, Slow, and mass magic.
3rd week - Kyrre runs back. I take 2 Dragon Fly Hives in the sand Treasure zone and run looking for something tasty. The red player takes both my Castles, and Kyrre chases Nile through the Treasure zone. I grab basic Search, fight off a guard post with 100+ Genies, a Necklace +3+3 with 50+ Roc-birds, and gather 30 Wyverns, but after all the fights, all that's left is Wyverns, 7 Nagas, 40 Grems — that's it. I barely spend mana, still no mass magic, and I realize my only chance is to find Wings\КВ\КЗ\a Level 5 Hat. Alas, I find none of these, exit the Treasure zone into the secondary zone, and at 141, Kyrre catches me. In the final, no chance.
Thanks for the game.
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